Muscat: The Oman U17 national football team is awaiting official approval from the national teams committee at the Oman Football Association (OFA) to participate in the upcoming West Asian U-18 Championship which is scheduled to take place in Iraq in September.
The West Asian tournament represents a key opportunity for the youth squad to gain competitive exposure ahead of another major assignment of the AFC U17 Asian Cup Qualifiers which are set for November. The host nation and official draw for the continental qualifiers are expected to be announced in June.
The young Omani side has been without competitive action since last November, when they competed in the AFC U17 Asian Cup Qualifiers held in Myanmar. Under the guidance of national head coach Ahmed bin Salim Bait Said, the team delivered a strong campaign but narrowly missed out on qualification for the finals. Oman concluded the qualifiers as runners-up in their group with nine points, finishing just one point behind hosts Myanmar, who topped the standings with 10 points to secure the sole qualification spot to the Asian finals, which will be staged in Saudi Arabia from May 7 to 21 this year.
Oman began their qualifying campaign impressively, securing a 3-1 victory over Syria, followed by a commanding 5-0 win against Nepal. However, a decisive 2-0 defeat to Myanmar proved costly in the race for top position. The team responded strongly in their final group match with a convincing 4-0 triumph over Afghanistan. The final group standings saw Myanmar advance with 10 points, followed by Oman with nine. Syria finished third with seven points, Afghanistan placed fourth with three points, while Nepal ended their campaign without a point.
Since the conclusion of the qualifiers in November, the squad has remained inactive competitively as it awaits confirmation of its upcoming preparatory programme.
PREPARATION
Team manager, Hamdan Bait Said, confirmed that preparations will resume after the holy month of Ramadhan once the programme receives formal approval. “The team is currently not in action as we are awaiting the approval of the preparatory plan,” he said. “We expect to begin preparations after the Eid break. Participation in the West Asian Championship in Iraq in September is under consideration, followed by the AFC Asian Qualifiers in November.”
Earlier in September last year, Oman also featured in the GCC U17 Gulf Cup held in Qatar, where they exited at the group stage. Drawn alongside hosts Qatar, the UAE and Yemen, Oman finished third in Group A with three points. Their sole victory came in a 2-1 win over Yemen in the concluding match, while they suffered narrow 1-0 defeats to both Qatar and the UAE. Qatar topped the group with nine points, followed by the UAE with six, as both teams advanced to the semifinals. Yemen finished bottom of the group without points.
The upcoming months are expected to be crucial for the development of the squad, as the technical staff aims to build on previous experiences and strengthen the team’s readiness for regional and continental competitions.
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